Zag: The Number One Strategy of High-Performance Brands
Written by: Marty Neumeier
Editorial Reviews:
"When everybody zigs, zag," says author Marty Neumeier in this fresh view of brand strategy. ZAG follows the ultra-clear "whiteboard overview" style of Neumeier's first book, THE BRAND GAP, but drills deeper into the question of how brands can harness the power of differentiation. The author argues that in an extremely cluttered marketplace, traditional differentiation is no longer enough—today companies need “radical differentiation” to create lasting value for their shareholders and customers. In an entertaining 3-hour read you’ll learn:
- why me-too brands are doomed to fail
- how to "read" customer feedback on new products and messages
- the 17 steps for designing “difference” into your brand
- how to turn your brand’s “onliness” into a “trueline” to drive synergy
- the secrets of naming products, services, and companies
- the four deadly dangers faced by brand portfolios
- how to “stretch” your brand without breaking it
- how to succeed at all three stages of the competition cycle
ZAG is an AIGA Design Press book, published under Peachpit's New Riders imprint in partnership with AIGA. For a quick peek inside ZAG, go to www.zagbook.com.
If you like "Zag: The Number One Strategy of High-Performance Brands, you might also like ...
Spotlight customer reviews:
Customer Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Comment: Nutshell review - This is a great little book which ranks right up there with "Positioning, the Battle for your Mind" by Al Ries and Jack Trout. Get this book, find your Zag, and fire-up your brand.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Ideas
Comment: This is a power-packed little volume. Lots of meat and very few trimmings. It offers action steps, and more important, suggests attitude changes. I passed it around to my leadership team.
Customer Rating:
Summary: ZAG . . .to the front of the competition
Comment: Building brands is what my company does I have read MANY books on the subject and Marty, with runners on 1st, 2nd and 3rd base in the bottom of 9th inning, blasts one over the fence with his book! An easy and short read yet packed full of invaluable information on getting out of the starting blocks on the right track when it comes to building your brand. He speaks effecitvely on what that means and how to do it. It not only reads well but pictorially it's a winner. Visually he always brings the point home. Al Reis's the 22 Immutable laws of branding was my #1, now this has inched its way to the forefront of my favorite reference books in this area. Bravo Marty, bravo!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Very Interesting
Comment: A very interesting book, shows everybody a different side of Marketing conceptualization. Gives the oportunity to go step by step in a creation of a brand in such a way that makes it different to all other brands, and create loyalty in consumers towards your brand.
Highly recommended.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great thoughts, presented perfectly for busy people
Comment: You have to read Zag like you read the bible- it tells a great story but you often are better served not delving too deeply into the statements made by the author to support his points (i.e. the fact that 11 million people went to Europe in 2006 versus 8 million in 1964 as evidence of a shift in American society- though as a percent of the population it is almost no change at all in Americans traveling abroad).
Such is the nature of writing about a topic where 1) the author makes his money selling branding services; 2) he doesn't believe in hard numbers to prove points, harboring the predictable anti-research position that is both a great strength and weakness of this book and books like this (i.e. Blink). It also may be the most acceptable way to write a book that is not so dry and academic that nobody would want to read it.
But the story being told is a great one and it is really well told. Neumeier needs to get a lot of credit for presenting ideas simply (not simplistically) which many other authors would make very complicated. The book is also just really well thought out so that it is thoroughly enjoyable to read even as you get into some pretty important topics that others might get bogged down in jargon or overly long explanations. The book also gets high markst for not only discussing what a "zag" is but also showing you how you can get there if you follow his clearly outlined process.
So while the book is clearly a campaign for what he believes versus an objective look at branding, it is great read and I would recommend it for anyone working in marketing/branding that wants a refresher or reminder about what you should be thinking about in our ever-changing world.
Accessories:
Dewey Decimal Number: 380
EAN: 9780321426772
ISBN: 0321426770
Label: Peachpit Press
Manufacturer: Peachpit Press
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 192
Publication Date: 2006-09-30
Publisher: Peachpit Press
Studio: Peachpit Press
 | Format: Paperback List Price: $24.95 Our Price: $16.47 Your Save: $ 8.48 ( 34% ) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Average Customer Rating:  |
Editorial Reviews:
"When everybody zigs, zag," says author Marty Neumeier in this fresh view of brand strategy. ZAG follows the ultra-clear "whiteboard overview" style of Neumeier's first book, THE BRAND GAP, but drills deeper into the question of how brands can harness the power of differentiation. The author argues that in an extremely cluttered marketplace, traditional differentiation is no longer enough—today companies need “radical differentiation” to create lasting value for their shareholders and customers. In an entertaining 3-hour read you’ll learn:
- why me-too brands are doomed to fail
- how to "read" customer feedback on new products and messages
- the 17 steps for designing “difference” into your brand
- how to turn your brand’s “onliness” into a “trueline” to drive synergy
- the secrets of naming products, services, and companies
- the four deadly dangers faced by brand portfolios
- how to “stretch” your brand without breaking it
- how to succeed at all three stages of the competition cycle
ZAG is an AIGA Design Press book, published under Peachpit's New Riders imprint in partnership with AIGA. For a quick peek inside ZAG, go to www.zagbook.com.
If you like "Zag: The Number One Strategy of High-Performance Brands, you might also like ...
Spotlight customer reviews:
Customer Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Comment: Nutshell review - This is a great little book which ranks right up there with "Positioning, the Battle for your Mind" by Al Ries and Jack Trout. Get this book, find your Zag, and fire-up your brand.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Ideas
Comment: This is a power-packed little volume. Lots of meat and very few trimmings. It offers action steps, and more important, suggests attitude changes. I passed it around to my leadership team.
Customer Rating:
Summary: ZAG . . .to the front of the competition
Comment: Building brands is what my company does I have read MANY books on the subject and Marty, with runners on 1st, 2nd and 3rd base in the bottom of 9th inning, blasts one over the fence with his book! An easy and short read yet packed full of invaluable information on getting out of the starting blocks on the right track when it comes to building your brand. He speaks effecitvely on what that means and how to do it. It not only reads well but pictorially it's a winner. Visually he always brings the point home. Al Reis's the 22 Immutable laws of branding was my #1, now this has inched its way to the forefront of my favorite reference books in this area. Bravo Marty, bravo!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Very Interesting
Comment: A very interesting book, shows everybody a different side of Marketing conceptualization. Gives the oportunity to go step by step in a creation of a brand in such a way that makes it different to all other brands, and create loyalty in consumers towards your brand.
Highly recommended.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great thoughts, presented perfectly for busy people
Comment: You have to read Zag like you read the bible- it tells a great story but you often are better served not delving too deeply into the statements made by the author to support his points (i.e. the fact that 11 million people went to Europe in 2006 versus 8 million in 1964 as evidence of a shift in American society- though as a percent of the population it is almost no change at all in Americans traveling abroad).
Such is the nature of writing about a topic where 1) the author makes his money selling branding services; 2) he doesn't believe in hard numbers to prove points, harboring the predictable anti-research position that is both a great strength and weakness of this book and books like this (i.e. Blink). It also may be the most acceptable way to write a book that is not so dry and academic that nobody would want to read it.
But the story being told is a great one and it is really well told. Neumeier needs to get a lot of credit for presenting ideas simply (not simplistically) which many other authors would make very complicated. The book is also just really well thought out so that it is thoroughly enjoyable to read even as you get into some pretty important topics that others might get bogged down in jargon or overly long explanations. The book also gets high markst for not only discussing what a "zag" is but also showing you how you can get there if you follow his clearly outlined process.
So while the book is clearly a campaign for what he believes versus an objective look at branding, it is great read and I would recommend it for anyone working in marketing/branding that wants a refresher or reminder about what you should be thinking about in our ever-changing world.
Accessories:
 | The Brand Gap: Expanded Edition |
 | The Open Brand: When Push Comes to Pull in a Web-Made World |
 | Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery (Voices That Matter) |
Technical Details
Binding: PaperbackDewey Decimal Number: 380
EAN: 9780321426772
ISBN: 0321426770
Label: Peachpit Press
Manufacturer: Peachpit Press
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 192
Publication Date: 2006-09-30
Publisher: Peachpit Press
Studio: Peachpit Press
